Description

A new and exciting holiday for 2017 – an exploration in the Kaçkar Mountains of northeast Turkey with Dr Martin Warren & Dr Yiannis Christofides!

New for 2017 our two centre 9 day tour of northeast Turkey! Join butterfly expert Martin Warren and botanical expert Yiannis Christofides in an exploration of the Kaçkar Mountains! Vastly experienced and knowledgable local guides will accompany us to assist in discovering some of the areas best flower and butterfly treasures!

The Kaçkar mountains rise steeply from Turkey’s Black Sea coast and are an extension of the Caucasus mountains which are considered by the World Wild Fund for Nature and by Conservation International as a biodiversity hotspot. The Çoruh valley lies at the very heart of the Kaçkar. Steep-sided valleys, alpine meadows, river-side vegetation, Mediterranean habitats, all contribute to a diversity of habitats that account for the formidable list of more than 140 butterflies that reside in the area.

Turkish flora is incredibly rich, with 11466 species, 3650 of which are endemic. This diversity stems principally from country`s geographical position, sandwiched between the steps of Central Asia, the deserts of Syria, the cold afforested mountains of Central Europe, and the Mediterranean to the west. The unspoilt area we’ll visit is very rich botanically, with many species of Campanula, Gentians, Centaurea, Dianthus, Silene,Digitalis exotic Acantholimon, beautiful Papaver and many others.

The many habitats of the Kackar support a rich diversity of birds.The lower valleys host Blue Rock Thrush, Rollers and Bee-eaters. Streams support Grey and White Wagtails, Dippers and Common Sandpipers.Forests and Mountain hillsides are home to Tree Pipits, Rosefinches, Redstarts, Chukar, Red-Backed Shrikes, Red-Fronted Serins, Ring Ouzels, Ortolan Buntings, Rock Thrushes, Kruper’s Nuthatch, Short-toed Treecreeper and no less than 7 species of Woodpeckers. Birds of prey such as Buzzards, Honey-Buzzards, Long-legged Buzzard,Griffon and Black Vultures, Golden Eagles and Lammergeier may be seen soaring over the valleys.

Accompanying us will be Yasemin Konuralp, who has over 20 years experience in guiding tours in Turkey. During that time she has built up considerable knowledge about the endemic wildflowers of the country, which has culminated into a Wildflowers of Turkey field guide, published in 2013.